Florida’s Farmers Sierra Club

Florida’s farmers live in our community, support our local businesses, and go to our schools and churches.

The Sierra Club is based in San Francisco, California.

Florida’s farmers make a living off the land, contribute to our economy, and create jobs for our families.

The Sierra Club lives off lawsuits that hurt the economy and cost jobs.

Last year, Florida’s farmers produced 25% of America’s sugar. Source: What would happen if the South Florida sugar industry disappeared?, Treasure Coast News, Dec. 8, 2013

Last year, the Sierra Club filed more than 250 legal actions, bragging that they are “the nation’s leader in environmental litigation.” https://content.sierraclub.org/environmentallaw/about

Florida’s Farmers Are Under Attack

Florida’s farmers have been safely managing their land for more than a century.

Now, outsiders are threatening to shut down their farms with frivolous legal actions

against prescribed field burns that will cost tens of thousands of jobs.

The Sierra Club, an extreme environmental group from California, has made legal threats about stopping Florida’s farmers from using carefully managed prescribed burns to prepare their sugarcane for harvest—a process that is legal, environmentally sound and used by government and conservationist organizations around the world.

Delaying or impeding the harvest process could damage the crops, which would hurt our local economy and cost jobs. Our community can’t afford to let outsiders harm our agricultural economy.

Opponents of sugarcane farming are basing their arguments on a study of cane burning in Brazil—where Brazilian sugar is heavily subsidized and its climate, terrain and farming practices are completely different than Florida’s. They tout Brazil and Australia as two sugar-producing countries that do not burn cane in certain areas and ignore that sugarcane burning is common in most sugarcane-producing nations, including here in the United States where it is a safe, tested and carefully regulated industry practice. Air quality is not impacted.

WHO DO YOU TRUST?

Florida’s farmers have used pre-harvest cane burning for nearly 100 years.

Based on extensive monitoring over multiple decades and tracking of cane burning during the harvest season, the

data shows our area enjoys some of the best air quality in the state. Additionally, cane burning complies with all state and federal air quality standards according

to the Palm Beach County Health Department and Florida Forest Service.

THE TRUTH ABOUT CANE BURNING

AND AIR QUALITYThe Threat of Litigation The Faulty Science Behind the Attacks

GET THE FACTS

Do these fires impact air quality?The air quality in sugarcane farming areas meets all state and federal air quality standards, and air quality is better than in surrounding urban counties. Decades of air monitoring have found that prescribed burns on sugarcane fields do not negatively affect air quality. The Palm Beach County Health Department states that there is no data or medical evidence of increased patient visits or respiratory health issues due to cane burning.

Why do farmers burn their sugarcane fields?Excess leaf material on the cane stalks needs to be removed before the crops are harvested and processed. Burning the leafy material is the safest, most cost-effective way to remove the leafy material. Leaving it on the moisture-rich muck soils in South Florida would lead to root rot, fungus and other crop damage.

Why not use other techniques to remove the leafy material?Removing the leafy material by hand would be a costly and labor-intensive process, and the crop waste could potentially overwhelm local landfills that are serving homes and businesses. Additionally, trucking away so much additional material would significantly increase fossil fuel emissions and truck/traffic congestion.

How do farmers control the burns?Sugarcane farmers can only burn 40- to 80-acre blocks at a time, burns last only 15 to 20 minutes, and Florida sugarcane fields are surrounded by canals and waterways.

When are the crops burned?The pre-harvest burns take place during the sugarcane harvest season between October and April every year.

How do we know the process is legal?The Florida Forest Service, under the direction of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, regulates the process for burning the sugarcane fields to ensure they are performed safely and lawfully.

Who else uses burns to manage their land?The National Park Service, Florida Park Service, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, water management districts, private landowners and environmental groups such as the Nature Conservancy use carefully managed prescribed burns to maintain public and private lands for conservation and recreation. Cattle ranchers, nursery growers, and construction and development industries also use prescribed burns. Carefully controlled burns can reduce the risk of wildfire, which protects natural habitats, homes and businesses.

Does the burning hurt wildlife?Fire is a part of nature, and local wildlife has successfully adapted to the annual harvest cycle. Animals and birds temporarily retreat from the area during the burn and then quickly return after the fire is out.

For decades, our community has farmed sugarcane on more than 400,000 acres across Hendry, Glades, Martin and Palm Beach Counties. Source: Sugarcane Growers Cooperative of Florida http://scgc.appletonstock.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/SCGC_brochure.pdf

Sugarcane farming supports working families in our rural economy. Today, growing and processing sugarcane creates nearly 12,500 jobs statewide and contributes more than $3.2 billion annually to our state economy. Source: American Sugar Alliance http://sugaralliance.org/where-is-sugar-produced

STAND WITH OUR FARMERS, KNOW THE FACTS. . .

Our Land, Our Community, Our Jobs

STAND WITH FLORIDA’S FARMERS